Tablet computers and computing devices typically execute operating systems that execute within a paradigm where user input is generated using a touch screen. Many of today's tablet computers are designed to capture and process touch input and many of the applications displayed on tablet computers are designed to accommodate a paradigm where user input is generated using a touch screen. Some applications are designed specifically for a tablet operating system environment such that a user can interact with menus, input fields and other application interface elements through a touch screen.
There exist various applications that are not configured to operate within a system paradigm where a touch screen is the primary means by which user input is received. Many of these applications are configured to execute within a system that contemplates the availability of both a mouse pointer and a mouse. In most cases, the different environments pose few problems because applications that are not configured to execute on a tablet typically cannot be loaded or executed on a tablet computer. Issues may arise when a user remotely accesses an application that is not designed to execute on a tablet computer.
There exist remote access applications which allow users to remotely display and interact with remote applications on a tablet computer. These applications display remote applications that execute on a remote computer and in most cases within an environment that contemplates the existence of a mouse pointer and a mouse. When a user accesses these applications from a tablet computer that does not provide a mouse pointer and that does not contemplate the use of a mouse, the user may be unable to successfully interact with all the elements of the remote application. Thus a need exists for a system that displays a mouse pointer on a computer that executes an operating system which does not otherwise provide a mouse pointer. Further, a need exists for a way to control movement of the mouse pointer throughout the desktop of the tablet computer.